Nothing Compares 2 U is the sixth track on The Family's first and only album The Family. Prince wrote seven of the eight songs on the album, but Nothing Compares 2 U is the only track for which Prince took official credit.

After becoming a worldwide number one single when covered by Irish singer Sinead O'Connor, Prince began playing the song live, and in 1993, he released a live version (sharing lead vocals with Rosie Gaines) as the eleventh track (one of two new tracks) on The Hits 1.

Miles Davis had requested an instrumental of Nothing Compares 2 U to record his trumpet on. But Prince wasn't keen on that and thought it was corny just to do a trumpet on top of a song that already existed. So around 1991 Prince re-cut it and gave it a different flavor.

Prince was partly inspired in writing the the song by Sandy Scipioni, his personal assistant in the 1980s, who had to leave suddenly after her father's death (Prince and Scipioni were not in a romantic relationship, however).

Prince's live version from The Hits 1 went on to be simulcast on US radio stations at 5:07 p.m. CT (6:07 ET/3:07 PT) on 4 May 2016, marking exactly "7 hours and 13 days" since Prince was pronounced dead.

On 19 April 2018Prince's original version was released as download file on Tidal and Apple Music as well as streaming on Spotify and Deezer, and on youtube with an accompanying video made up of Flying Cloud Drive Warehouse rehearsal footage. A (limited to 1984 copies) purple vinyl single was available on 21 April 2018 at Electric Fetus in Minneapolis, while a picture disc was available through The Prince official store. A normal black 7 inch single of the song was subsequently available from 25 May. In 2019, Prince's version was included as the fifteenth and last track on the posthumous album Originals.

Businessman and future US presidential candidate Donald Trump was in the 200-person audience for the 27 January 1992 (a.m.): Paisley Park Studios, Chanhassen, MN, USA live version that was included on The Hits 1. By coincidence, when the track was simulcast on US radio stations at 5:07 p.m. CT (6:07 ET/3:07 PT) on May 4 2016, marking exactly "7 hours and 13 days" since Prince was pronounced dead, Trump had just secured the Republican party nomination for US president a few hours earlier.